Massive book donation planned for Hurricane Sandy victims

“Our school got ruined and we were out of school for two weeks.” That’s what Gabrielle, a fifth-grader at Our Lady of Czestochowa School in Jersey City, New Jersey, told CBS New York on Tuesday.

Gabrielle is one of thousands of children whose schools — and school libraries — were damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Scholastic, largest children’s publisher and distributor in the world — the publisher of the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series — will donate one million books to schools affected by the storm in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Newsday reported Tuesday that about half that number had already been requisitioned, to more than 100 schools, including more than thirty on Long Island. According to the Scholastic website, “Schools and libraries in the tri-state region suffering significant damage from Hurricane Sandy are eligible” to receive books.

To help in the recovery efforts with support for the educators, families and students who have suffered losses in the hardest-hit areas of the tri-state region, Scholastic is accepting book grant requests and will provide new books to get tens of thousands of students reading and learning again. Scholastic is working in partnership with Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.) to distribute the book donations.

“The educators, parents and caregivers, who are helping children in our hard hit communities throughout the region, are true heroes,” said Richard Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO, Scholastic. “All of us at Scholastic are committed to getting these books, lesson plans and other learning materials into the affected communities as soon as possible in the hope that we can provide support for our young people as they return to schools that need extra resources.”